


Stagger

by mhunter10



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Arthritis, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Old Age, Pain, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-10-20
Packaged: 2018-08-23 14:06:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8330668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mhunter10/pseuds/mhunter10
Summary: Mickey and Ian don't have the same swagger that they used to, but they can still remember the good days.





	

Mickey winced as he got up from the bed. It creaked and groaned just as much as his body. He limped across the room, trying to make as little noise as possible so he wouldn’t wake Ian. He caught himself on the doorway when his knee gave out a little. He sighed. All those years of stomping around the neighborhood, intimidating people just by the familiar stride of his wide gate, and now he could barely get to the kitchen on a cold day. His youthful swagger was now an embarrassing stagger in his old age.

“Fuckin’ arthritis,” he mumbled to himself. He coughed the kind of cough that comes from years of smoking and quitting just in the nick of time, then spit in the sink.

He threw one of those coffee flavor cup things into the machine Ian insisted on buying to replace their old one, and waited for the thing to stop whirring. He sipped the still hot black coffee and was glad to have something hot sliding down his throat and waking him up. If Ian asked though, he’d say it tasted terrible and was a waste of money. And then Ian would call him a grumpy old man, as he chuckled like the kid he still was at heart. Old age had caught up with him too, but he didn’t let it show if he could help it.

Mickey took all his necessary pills then laid out Ian’s like he always did. Then he sat down in his chair and turned on the tv. He took to massaging his achy knee, hoping that would help some. By the time he’d finished his first cup, Ian came out of their room, shuffling in his slippers that Mickey bought him.

“Mornin’,” Ian greeted, patting Mickey on the shoulder while using it for support. Mickey nodded, touching Ian’s hand. He couldn’t tell the freckles from the spots, but it didn’t matter so much.

Mickey held out his cup, “Get me another?”

Ian stopped and noticed Mickey’s face and posture. This wasn’t just a lazy ask. He took the cup. “Your knees again?”

Mickey sighed, “Just the one. Acting up a bit.” He spun in his chair slightly so he could watch Ian as he moved around the kitchen. Ian made toast while he waited for both cups to fill at the same time. Stupid machine was pretty damn convenient.

“Gonna call that rheumatologist?” Ian asked, handing Mickey his coffee and settling into his chair beside him. They shared the toast.

Mickey grunted, muttering about their insurance and whatever else he could think up as an excuse. Ian knew this. He would keep pushing a little until Mickey eventually broke on his own and went. That was how they worked. Always have.

“I loved the way your knees went out to the side when you walked,” Ian mused, smiling through his reminiscing. He reached over to grab Mickey’s hand, running his shaky fingers over the heavily faded ink.

Mickey smiled, shaking his head. “I think you just liked watching me walk away.”

“Still do,” Ian grinned.

Mickey laughed, “Pervy old man.”

“To think I used to date guys like me,” Ian said, seeming to be remembering something.

“Did more than date'em,” Mickey grumbled.

Ian came out of his memories and brought Mickey’s hand to his lips, kissing the wrinkled and weathered skin.

“We’ve been through a lot, ay Mick?”

Mickey shrugged then nodded, rubbing his thumb over Ian’s. “Yeah.”

They sat and watched tv, drinking their coffee and not saying much because it wasn’t needed.

**Author's Note:**

> sitting here icing my arthritic knee at the ripe age of 20something after limping around all day, so I imagined old Ian and Mickey with bad knees and bad backs but good memories


End file.
